Marigold and Daisies (H.S.)

Six

Marigold's POV

"And things have been... good?" Allie asked as she stuffed some baby's breath into a small arrangement across from me, the skeptical expression never leaving her face. I pursed my lips, rotating the vase of a bouquet I was working on, nodding slowly with a shrug.

"Yeah, things have been good." I shrugged as casually as possible. Allie has been hounding me from the moment she walked into my studio 15 minutes ago, dying to know if there were any updates on Harry. She's certain that something went down between Harry and I, but that's really not the case.

"Marigold.." Allie stopped what she was doing, her hands falling to the table top. She tilted her head at me and sighed. "How do you feel about him?" The tone in her voice shifted drastically, suddenly sounding serious.

"What do you mean?" I chuckled, not understanding why she's making this a big deal. "He's my friend. We're just friends." I widened my eyes at her, adding some edge to my voice so she'll lay off a little bit. She didn't care for my response though and rolled her eyes.

"Marigold, if you think you still have feelings for him it's okay. I'm not going to judge you." She raised an eyebrow at me, still pushing. Allie would absolutely judge me, but she's the only one in my life that holds me accountable.

"Allie, he's just come back into my life again! I am not romantically involved with Harry, nor do I want to be. I can't handle any of that right now." I shrugged, desperately trying to make the conversation end already. It's true, we are not romantically involved and I absolutely cannot handle any of it, right now.

"I'm not trying to be pushy, I promise." She raised her hands up defensively. "I just.. You haven't stopped smiling in the past 4 weeks.." Her lips twitched upwards in the smallest smile. "I'm glad that you're happy. I'm glad that he makes you happy. I just want to remind you of who he is and what his life is. Not to mention what he did." She mumbles quieter. "I think you're letting yourself be comfortable with him again and there's nothing wrong with that. But if Harry were to just up and leave right now, would you be okay?" She questioned.

I stayed silent, staring down at my hands that were tangled in a handful of roses. I knew she had a point. She always does. She's not trying to discourage my friendship with Harry, she's just telling me to be cautious. Harry was my entire world at one point and when he left, it almost broke me. I sighed in defeat, because the truth was, if Harry were to leave I know I wouldn't be okay. I would be sitting in self pity wondering why I wasn't enough for him to stay, again.

"We're just friends." I said again, giving her a small nod. "I'm being careful. I promise." I'm not really sure if I was trying to convince her or myself at this point. Definitely myself.

"I know you. And I know how you get when you start.. feeling things for somebody." Allie scrunched her nose slightly. "I like Harry. Not just because you two have history and not just because he's Harry Styles. Like I said before, you guys reconnecting is like fate. I just- I really don't want to see you get hurt again, Mari."

"Allie." I give her a small smile. "I know you're just looking out for me and I appreciate it. I do. I love you, but we're just now starting to rebuild our friendship, okay? That's all I want from him, and that's all he wants from me. We used to be best friends, Allie." Yeah, we used to date too but that's irrelevant right now. We were best friends before we started dating and if that's all either of us want to be then that's how it will stay.

She stared at me skeptically for another moment before finally nodding her head and letting this conversation be over.

"What is he up to anyway?" Allie continued to work on the small arrangement in front of her.